The NC State softball team completed a series sweep of the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday, April 11 with a 4-0 victory. The series finale featured a repeat of redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Sydney Nester’s performance in the series opener, as redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Abby Trahan (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 11 K) tossed a complete-game shutout of her own in the win.
Trahan got the start from the pitcher’s circle for the Pack (21-11, 14-11 ACC). Her dominance over the Panthers (10-25, 5-20 ACC) began early with a peculiar four-strikeout frame in the top of the first. This oddity was possible because of a two-out dropped third strike that allowed Pittsburgh first baseman Sarah Seamans to reach first base before Trahan notched her fourth strikeout for the third out.
“I use the first inning to settle in and get comfortable,” Trahan said. “It really sets the tone, not just for myself but for the team offensively and defensively. It was really crucial that I stepped in in the first inning and got comfortable like I did.”
Trahan also got some help from redshirt junior catcher Madeline Curtis (1-2, HR, RBI), who launched a solo dinger to give Trahan and NC State a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Curtis’ homer was a precursor to the power surge that occurred in the bottom of the fourth, when redshirt junior shortstop Randi Farricker (1-3, HR, RBI) and redshirt freshman first baseman Libby Whittaker (1-2, HR, 2 RBI) also went yard. Farricker hit a solo moonshot over the fence in left center field to double the Pack’s lead to 2-0 before Whittaker drove Curtis home with a two-out, two-run bomb to double NC State’s lead once more to 4-0.
“The vibe was really loose in the dugout as far as who was going to hit the first [home run] and who was going to hit the next one,” said head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift. “They were in the dugout the whole game, from pitch one on talking about hitting home runs and that’s exactly the type of environment that lends to actually getting home runs…That’s our M.O., when we’re hitting home runs, it’s most likely going to end up being a good day.”
The offensive action was quickly quelled however, as both squads went down in order in the fifth. Trahan tossed another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth, notching two more strikeouts to bring her total to eight punchouts on the evening.
“It’s crucial,” Trahan said of having an early lead to work with. “Not only does it give my confidence, but it also loosens the team up… We’re having so much more fun as a team when we get a head start like that.”
After the Wolfpack failed to reach base again in the bottom of the sixth, Trahan fulfilled the series sweep in style by striking out the side in the top of the seventh to complete NC State’s second complete-game shutout of the weekend.
“It all starts and ends in the circle,” Patrick-Swift said. “We can hit home runs all day but at the same time, if we’re going to give runs, hit people, walk batters and then give up home runs on the defensive side then we’re going to be in some trouble. We’ve challenged the pitchers in the last couple of weeks and they’re working hard, especially Monday through Thursday, trying to raise their game and get them to where they need to be. They came out this weekend and they really responded so that was good to see.”
The Wolfpack will return to action on Friday, April 16 to take on the No. 17 LSU Tigers. The game will be aired at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
